1. Pulp Fiction
Release Date: October 14, 1994
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Christopher Walken, Eric Stoltz, Rosana Arquette, Harvey Keitel.
Random Cameos: Steve Buscemi, Kathy Griffin, Julia Sweeney.
First Time I Saw It: My dad and I rented the movie in 1995 and by the time Travolta and Uma hit Jack Rabbit Slim’s, the movie was off and returned to Easy Video. Three years later I taped it off WPIX 11 (now The CW in the New York market) and watched it there. I finally caught the full, unedited version in 2007.
Why I Ranked It So High: 1994 is an amazing year for movies. However, in the grand scheme of things, few films have had such a massive impact on the world of movies as Pulp Fiction. Tarantino’s style – from a visual, technical and literary standpoint – has influenced so many filmmakers both overtly and inadvertently. Its success has allowed for weird, outside the box films acceptable not only to mainstream audiences but also for film studios to sink serious dollar behind.
Why I Love It: Pulp Fiction is a movie that continues to floor me. Everytime I watch it, I pick up some nuance I missed before – whether it be a pop culture reference, a camera trick, foreshadowing, a quirk in a performance. It’s just the gift that keeps on giving. The performances are awesome – particularly from Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis. For Jackson, this is his seminal, never-to-be-topped performance. His acidic, bombastic performance (something that has almost become a joke at times throughout his career) was and still is revelation. On the flip side of the coin, Willis gives one of his more subtle performances – it’s quieter and less mouthy than we’re used to from Willis. The nonlinear storytelling is one of the most fascinating things about the story – Tarantino and co-writer Roger Avary chopped this story up, mixed it up and yet they still made it work perfectly. The soundtrack. Oh my word that soundtrack. The most random soundtrack ever – Burl Ives, Kool & The Gang, Dick Dale – it all works perfectly. Excuse me, I need to go pop this movie in my DVD player now. –Bill Bodkin
